The 20 Most Shocking Actors to Be Dropped

Robert Downey Jr. joined “SNL” in 1985 during Season 11 as creator Lorne Michaels looked to revamp the show to attract a younger demographic. However, Downey only lasted a single season. The Oscar winner later explained that he realized he never felt comfortable with the humor the show was going for.

In a 2019 interview with filmmaker Sam Jones, Downey said, “I learned so much in that year of who I wasn’t. I was not going to come up with a catchphrase. I was not somebody who was going to do impressions. I was somebody ill-suited to rapid-fire sketch comedy. I can still say, to this day, there’s not a more exciting 90 minutes you can have, whether you’re any good or not. It’s just amazing.”

Julia Louis-Dreyfus joined “SNL” at 21 years old, making her the youngest female performer during her tenure from 1982 to 1985. While she wasn’t officially fired, Louis-Dreyfus has said that working on “Saturday Night Live” was difficult at times, and that there were limited opportunities for the women who worked and wrote for the series.

Shane Gillis was set to join “SNL” on Season 45 alongside future mainstays Bowen Yang and Chloe Fineman. However, before the season began, video clips resurfaced of Gillis saying racial slurs on a podcast. Gillis was fired as a result, but came back to host “SNL” in 2024.

In a deleted tweet, Gillis wrote of his firing, “Of course I wanted an opportunity to prove myself on ‘SNL,’ but I understand it would be too much of a distraction. I respect the decision they made.”

Taran Killam joined “SNL” during its 36th season and quickly became a fan favorite. After being on the show for six years, Killam was fired in 2016 despite having one year left on his contract.

Lorne Michaels revealed the reason why Killam was let go from his contract in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, saying that the “lifeblood” of the show needed to be changed, resulting in Killam’s firing.

Norm MacDonald starred on “SNL” from 1993 to 1997, and remains one of the most beloved “Weekend Update” hosts of all time. During the O.J. Simpson murder trial, MacDonald relentlessly joked about the case and the ongoing legal proceedings. Allegedly, this offended NBC exec Don Ohlmeyer, a close friend of Simpson’s, and MacDonald was fired as a result in 1997.

When he joined “SNL” during Season 16, Chris Rock was just 23 years old. After appearing on the show from 1990 to 1993, Rock was fired after expressing how he felt towards the material he was given and wanting to jump ship to Fox’s “In Living Color.” 

Rock recalled his firing in a musical number performed alongside Adam Sandler and Pete Davidson during a 2019 episode of “SNL.”

Adam Sandler starred on “SNL” from 1990 to 1995. After the series faced lower-than-expected ratings, Sandler was let go after NBC executives pressured creator Lorne Michaels to overhaul the cast to attract more viewers. 

Jenny Slate was only on “SNL” for a single season, joining the cast in 2009 and leaving in 2010. While it’s unknown specifically why Slate was fired, she told InStyle in 2019 that she believed it was a result of feeling like she “didn’t belong” on “SNL” and never fully clicking with the series. 

Sarah Silverman was a featured player and writer on “Saturday Night Live” for one season from 1993 to 1994. Silverman was fired due to staff changes for the 1994-1995 season.

“I don’t have any bitterness towards [‘SNL’]. I still watch it every Saturday,” Silverman said in an interview on “The Howard Stern Show.” “I loved it. I was there for a year, it was really intense. It’s like the greatest comedy boot camp.”

Chris Farley joined “Saturday Night Live” in 1990 during Season 16. Farley was fired in the spring of 1995 and it was cited that he had been let go because of low ratings. However, it’s rumored that creator Lorne Michaels wanted Farley off the show so he could better face his struggles with addiction.

Chris Parnell joined “SNL” in 1998 during Season 24 and was fired from the show twice. Parnell was laid off in 2001 due to budget cuts and to make room for new cast members. He was rehired the next year in the middle of the new season and laid off again in 2006.

Jay Pharoah joined “SNL” in 2010 during Season 36. After six seasons, his contract expired and was not renewed. Pharoah revealed in an interview with Hot97 that he was let go because “SNL” wanted to put cast members in “boxes,” and he refused to be typecast.

Damon Wayans was a featured player on “SNL” for one season, joining in 1985 and exiting in 1986. Wayans was frustrated by the writers always shooting down his sketch ideas and writing him into unsavory roles. He reached a breaking point during the sketch “Mr. Monopoly.” He went rogue during his performance, taking his character in a completely unplanned direction. He was fired as a result.

“I snapped. I just did not care,” said Wayans in an interview. “I purposefully did that because I wanted him [Michaels] to fire me.”

Casey Wilson joined “SNL” in January 2008, but due to the ongoing WGA strike, Wilson would not make her first appearance on the show until February 2008. Wilson worked on “SNL” for two seasons and was let go before the 2009-2010 season.

Emil Wakim joined “SNL” for Season 50, where he was a featured cast member. In the weeks leading up to Season 51, Wakim announced on his Instagram that he was leaving the show, and that receiving the call was a “gut punch.”

“I was so lucky to bring some of myself in there and say things I believed in and I’m excited for whatever chapter comes next,” he wrote. “Here’s to making more art without compromise.”

Joan Cusack joined “SNL” in 1985 but was fired after one season to make room for new cast members. Cusack revealed that she was happy with the decision in a conversation with NPR’s “Fresh Air” podcast, saying that working on the show made her feel miserable. 

Michael Longfellow joined “SNL” as a featured player in 2022 until he announced he was leaving the show before Season 51. Longfellow revealed that he did not learn the news of his firing from creator Lorne Michaels, but was rather told through his manager before boarding an airplane in Utah. 

Gilbert Gottfried only appeared on “SNL” during the 1980-1981 season, around the time that creator Lorne Michaels temporarily left the show. “I didn’t like the writers, and the writers hated me,” he said of his time on “SNL” during an interview on “The Joe Rogan Experience.” “One time, to prove how much they hated me, they wrote a funeral sketch where I was the dead body. So, I just had to lay there in the coffin.”

Michaela Watkins joined “SNL” during Season 34, where she lasted for one season before Lorne Michaels let her go. She said during an interview on “The Last Laugh” podcast that although it was tough, getting axed from “SNL” was ultimately a powerful learning moment.

“It was a real humbling moment that I think personally was a huge growth for me,” she said. “It forced me to sit with a lot of uncomfortable feelings and sadness and rejection and think about how I wanted to shape my life going forward.”

Chloe Troast was a key player on “SNL” Season 49 before being fired from the series. Troast announced the news on her Instagram account, and later said that it was “very Gen Z of [her] to get fired” from the show.